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Thursday, 16 June 2016

Oscar Romero

Oscar Romero was a martyr who was beatified by Pope Francis on 23rd of May 2015. He was born on August 15th 1917 in Ciudad Barrios, El Salvador. Oscar was a voice for the voiceless and spoke against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture. It was later found out that Major Roberto D’Aubuisson had ordered Oscar’s death. Oscar had convinced 5 radio stations to broadcast his preachings and sermons, but this radio station was blown up by the government in order to stop spreading his word. He was silenced on the 23rd of March 1980 while celebrating mass, after ordering the army to stop killing people and to “stop the repression”. Rutilio Grande was a close friend of Oscar’s, they knew each other from preacher training. Rutilio was assassinated in 1977 by the hands of Salvadoran paramilitary soldiers and was the first priest to be assassinated before the civil war began. After Rutilio’s death Oscar had a passion, he decided to have a change of heart and decided to see things in a different perspective by standing up for poor people by speaking against the government.

Oscar organised peace marches, speeches and blessings for the needy. He made the wealthy and the government enraged by spreading the Christian word of peace. Oscar Romero knew that his life was at risk, but he was willing to face these risks in order to protect those who needed it most.

More than 50,000 people gathered outside San Salvador Cathedral to pay their last respects to Oscar Romero. In anger the army fired at the crowd killing 30 people and leaving hundreds severely injured. After his death El Salvador was turned into civil war which lasted 12 years. It was named “Genocidal” (a war that claimed more than 75,000 lives) by the United Nations Truth Commision.